By Ogar Monday
The 2015 United Nations International Volunteer Day held in Calabar to celebrate and propagate the contributions of volunteers in the development of the nation.
In one of the celebrations held at the Central Bank of Nigeria, South-South Entrepreneurial Development Center by CUSO in collaboration with Lead, Inspire and Transform (LIT), Project Nigeria 2031, volunteers and intending volunteers were asked not to relent in their effort at being agents of change.
Also that they should think less of their personal desires and think of what they will bring into any organization and the society they find themselves as well as not what they will benefit from the process or the system.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Asuquo Bassey who delivered a paper of “Volunteering for Social Change” said “The culture of volunteering is important because the society is made up of different layers that in one way all the other contributes to the growth and development of the system because there has never been any society that developed without voluntary contributions”.
He asserted that social change can come through volunteering by “identifying the disparity between societies, be willing and ready to change that disparity, vocalize one’s passion, be ready to work with others who share same goals and make personal sacrifice”, he said.
In the same vein, Cross River State Civil Society Network (CRSCCN), in collaboration with Cross River Association for Volunteer Effort (CRAVE), celebrated the day separately with the presentation of awards to three outstanding volunteers.
The event which held at the Cross River State College of Health Technology, had in attendance representatives from various civil society groups, private sector organizations, communities, representatives of volunteer clubs and had as its theme as “Dialogue About How Volunteerism Is Vital To The Success Of Global Goals”.
While speaking at the event, the Chairman Board of Trustees of CRSCCN, Comrade Ben Usang said, “A sustainably developed society cannot exist without the sacrificial voluntary involvement of citizens of that society no matter the financial or natural resources at the disposal of that society”.
He therefore encouraged all to in their little ways contribute towards the development of the society by volunteering in one way or the other.
The World Volunteers Day celebration is marked every 9th of December by the United Nations (UN) to recognize the role volunteers play in driving world development.
The event featured voluntary counseling for people with HIV/AIDS as well as testing in different locations in Calabar organized by Coalition of Civil Society Network and Edem’s Children Foundation.
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